Memory mirror system for vehicle

ABSTRACT

A vehicle memory mirror system of the present invention includes a housing and an actuator. The housing includes a mirror casing and a support, which mounts the mirror casing to the vehicle. The weight of the actuator is directly distributed to the vehicle via the support so that the interior rearview mirror assembly of the memory mirror system exhibits improved vibration characteristics and, further, is positioned such that the mirror assembly has increased capacity for housing a variety of accessories and/or devices. A reflective element is incorporated in the casing and provides a rearward field of view when the mirror assembly is mounted to the vehicle, with the actuator providing adjustment for the rearward field of view. In one form, the actuator is substantially positioned exteriorly of the mirror casing and engages a portion of the casing to adjust the position of the casing and the reflective element about the one or more axes.

MEMORY MIRROR SYSTEM FOR VEHICLE

[0001] This application is a divisional application of U.S. pat.application Ser. No. 09/572,008, filed May 16, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No.6,698,905, which is incorporated herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention generally relates to an interior rearviewmirror assembly and, more particularly, to an interior rearview mirrorassembly for a vehicle memory mirror system.

[0003] Conventional vehicle memory mirror systems typically include oneor more exterior mirror assemblies which are equipped with electricallyoperated motors that provide for repositioning of the mirror assemblies'reflective elements with respect to one or more axes. Particularly forexterior sideview mirrors, it is known to incorporate memory-positioningsystems so that a driver of a vehicle may select a desired position ofthe exterior sideview mirror by simply pushing a button. Less known, butcurrently available, are memory mirror systems, which include memorypositions not only for the exterior sideview mirror assemblies butfurther, for the interior rearview mirror assembly. Incorporated intoeach of these mirror assemblies is a drive mechanism, which provides forthe memory positions for each of the reflective elements in the mirrorassemblies.

[0004] Referring to FIG. 6, a conventional interior mirror assembly fora memory mirror system includes a housing with a pivotal portion, suchas a casing C, and a fixed portion, such as a mounting arm M, whichmounts the casing to a windshield W on, for example a mounting button,as is known in the art. A reflective element assembly R is supported inthe pivotal portion or casing by an electrical actuator A. Heretofore,the actuator or drive mechanisms that have been incorporated into theseinterior rearview mirror assemblies necessarily add weight to thepivotal portion and, further, result in crowding out of otheraccessories or features which may be incorporated into the interiorrearview mirror casing. While such memory mirror systems (which includeboth exterior and rearview mirror assemblies) are known, they are notwidely used. It has been found that the weight of the motor, especiallyin interior mirror assemblies, has impacted the vibration performance ofthe mirror assembly. In addition, as the interior rearview mirrorassembly has been more recently targeted as a location for storing orholding a multitude of electronic and electrical devices and accessoriesthe space in the interior mirror assembly casing has become morecoveted.

[0005] For example, interior mirror assemblies now incorporate maplights, displays, videos, and other utility functions, such as describedin copending U.S. Pat. application entitled REARVIEW MIRROR ASSEMBLYWITH UTILITY FUNCTIONS, Ser. No. 09/449,121, filed Nov. 24, 1999, nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,428,172, the disclosure of which is herein incorporatedby reference in its entirety. Other examples of the various electronicand electrical features now incorporated into interior rearview mirrorassemblies include: Video screens, such as disclosed in copending U.S.Pat. application entitled INTERIOR REARVIEW MIRROR ASSEMBLYINCORPORATING A VIDEO SCREEN, filed Mar. 1, 2000, Ser. No. 60/186,520;microphones and/or speakers, such as disclosed in U.S. pat. applicationsSer. No. 09/361,814, filed Jul. 27, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,201,642,and Ser. No. 09/199,907 filed Nov. 25, 1998; sound processing systems,including digital sound processing systems, such as disclosed in U.S.pending application entitled INTERIOR REARVIEW MIRROR SOUND PROCESSING,Ser. No. 09/466,010, filed Dec. 17, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,420,975,all of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.Examples of location of such displays and/or user interfaces and/orother accessories such as video screens are disclosed in copending U.S.Pat. applications entitled INTERIOR REARVIEW MIRROR ASSEMBLYINCORPORATING A VIDEO SCREEN, filed Mar. 1, 2000, Ser. No. 60/186,520;U.S. pat. applications Ser. No. 09/361,814, filed Jul. 27, 1999, nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,201,642, and 09/199,907, filed Nov. 25, 1998; such assound processing systems, including digital sound processing systems,are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,959,865 entitled A METHOD FORINDICATING THE PRESENCE OF SPEECH IN AN AUDIO SIGNAL, issued Sep. 25,1990, to Stettiner et al. and in co-pending and co-assigned U.S. pat.applications Ser. No. 09/466,010, filed Dec. 17, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No.6,420,975; Ser. No. 09/396,179, filed Sep. 14, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No.6,420,975; Ser. No. 09/382,720, filed Aug. 25, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No.6,243,003; Ser. No. 09/449,121, filed Nov. 24, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No.6,428,172; Ser. No. 09/433,467, filed Nov. 4, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No.6,326,613; and Ser. No. 09/448,700, filed Nov. 24, 1999, now U.S. Pat.No. 6,329,925; such as displays, including tire pressure sensor systemdisplays, compass sensors and displays, temperature displays, aredisclosed in U.S. pat. application Ser. No. 09/244,726, filed Feb. 5,1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,613, and in U.S. pat. application entitledREARVIEW MIRROR ASSEMBLY WITH UTILITY FUNCTIONS, Ser. No. 09/449,121,filed Nov. 24, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,428,172; and U.S. Pat. No.5,530,240; such as a communication module is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,798,688; such as blind spot detection systems are disclosed in U.S.Pat. Nos. 5,929,786 or 5,786,772; such as transmitters and/or receivers,including garage door openers and a digital network, are described inU.S. Pat. No. 5,798,575; such as a memory mirror system is disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 5,796,176; U.S. Pat. No. 5,798,575; U.S. Pat. No.5,812,321; U.S. Pat. No. 5,786,772; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,959,367, and inU.S. Pat. applications entitled MEMORY MIRROR SYSTEM FOR VEHICLES, Ser.No. 09/448,690, filed Nov. 24, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,163,083; and AVEHICLE REARVIEW MIRROR AND A VEHICLE CONTROL SYSTEM INCORPORATING SUCHMIRROR, Ser. No. 09/341,450, filed Jul. 8, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No.6,291,905; such as a hands-free phone attachment, a video device forinternal cabin surveillance and/or video telephone function, aredisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,760,962 and 5,877,897 and U.S. pat.application Ser. No. 09/433,467, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,326,613, and U.S.pat. application Ser. No. 08/918,772, entitled MODULAR REARVIEW MIRRORASSEMBLY, filed Aug. 25, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,124,886; such asvehicle navigation systems are described in co-pending provisionalapplication Ser. No. 60/131,593, filed Apr. 29, 1999, entitledVEHICLE-BASED NAVIGATION SYSTEM WITH SMART MAP FILTERING, PORTABLE UNITHOME-BASE REGISTRATION AND MULTIPLE NAVIGATION SYSTEM PREFERENTIAL USE;such as map lights, including maps lights incorporating light emittingdiodes (including organic light emitting diodes) generating a whitelight beam, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,938,321; 5,813,745;5,820,245; 5,673,994; 5,649,756; 5,178,448; 5,669,698; 5,671,996;4,733,336; and 4,646,210; such as microphones and/or speakers aredisclosed in U.S. pat. applications Ser. No. 09/361,814, filed Jul. 27,1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,201,642, and Ser. No. 09/199,907, filed Nov.25, 1998; such as a compass is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,212;such as GPS displays and systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,971,552 and pending U.S. Pat. applications entitled COMPLETEMIRROR-BASED GLOBAL-POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS) NAVIGATION SOLUTION, filedMar. 9, 2000, Ser. No. 60/187,960, and entitled VEHICLE-BASED NAVIGATIONSYSTEM WITH SMART MAP FILTERING, HANDHELD UNIT HOME-BASE REGISTRATIONAND MULTIPLE NAVIGATION SYSTEM PREFERENTIAL USE, Ser. No. 60/131,593,filed Apr. 29, 1999; such as cameras, including video cameras, aredisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,877,897; U.S. Pat. No. 5,760,962; U.S. Pat.No. 5,959,367; U.S. Pat. No. 5,929,786; U.S. Pat. No. 5,949,331; U.S.Pat. No. 5,914,815; U.S. Pat. No. 5,786,772; U.S. Pat. No. 5,798,575;and U.S. Pat. No. 5,670,935, and pending U.S. Pat. applications entitledVEHICLE REARVIEW MIRROR DISPLAY SYSTEM, Ser. No. 09/304,201, filed May3, 1999; VEHICLE MIRROR DIGITAL NETWORK AND DYNAMICALLY INTERACTIVEMIRROR SYSTEM, Ser. No. 09/375,315, filed Aug. 16, 1999, now U.S. Pat.No. 6,198,409; WIDE ANGLE IMAGE CAPTURE SYSTEM FOR VEHICLES, Ser. No.09/199,907, filed Nov. 25, 1998; WIDE ANGLE IMAGING SYSTEM, Ser. No.09/361,814, filed Jul. 27, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,201,642; VEHICLEIMAGING SYSTEM WITH STEREO IMAGING, Ser. No. 09/372,915, filed Aug. 12,1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,396,397; VEHICLE REARVIEW MIRROR DISPLAYSYSTEM, Ser. No. 09/300,201, filed May 3, 1999; REARVIEW VISION SYSTEMWITH INDICIA OF BACKUP TRAVEL, Ser. No. 09/313,139, filed May 17, 1999,now U.S. Pat. No. 6,222,447; and pending U.S. pat. applications Ser. No.09/361,814, filed Jul. 27, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,201,642, and Ser.No. 09/199,907, filed Nov. 25, 1998, and U.S. pat. application Ser. No.09/433,467 (Attorney Docket No. P-783) filed Nov. 4, 1999, entitledVEHICLE INTERIOR MIRROR ASSEMBLY, to Patrick Heslin and Niall R. Lynam,now U.S. Pat. No. 6,326,613; such as headlamp controllers are disclosedin pending U.S. Pat. application entitled VEHICLE HEADLIGHT CONTROLUSING IMAGING SENSOR, Ser. No. 09/441,341, filed Nov. 16, 1999; such astelematic interfaces are disclosed in co-pending U.S. pat. applicationSer. No. 08/918,772, entitled MODULAR REARVIEW MIRROR ASSEMBLY, filedAug. 25, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,124,886; storage and pendantaccessories disclosed in U.S. Pat. application entitled REARVIEW MIRRORASSEMBLY WITH UTILITY FUNCTIONS, Ser. No. 09/449,121, filed Nov. 24,1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,428,172; such as rain sensors, includingnon-contacting rain sensors, are disclosed U.S. Pat. No. 4,973,844entitled VEHICULAR MOISTURE SENSOR AND MOUNTING APPARATUS THEREFORE, andPCT International Application PCT/US94/05093 entitled MULTI-FUNCTIONLIGHT SENSOR FOR VEHICLE, published as WO 94/27262 on Nov. 24, 1994;such as toll pay devices, including automatic toll pay devices, aredisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,485,520 to Chaum; such as remotetransaction devices are disclosed in pending U.S. Pat. applicationentitled A VEHICLE MOUNTED REMOTE TRANSACTION INTERFACE SYSTEM, filedApr. 8, 1998, Serial No. 09/057,428, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,655; suchas trip computers, vehicle status displays, air bag activation statusdisplays, instrumentation/console lighting, and other informationdisplay/user interface devices are disclosed U.S. pat. application Ser.No. 09/244,726, filed Feb. 5, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,613, theentire disclosures of all the referenced applications, patents, andpublications are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

[0006] Given the increasing number of components that are desirable inan interior rearview mirror assembly, there has been an increasing needto maximize the available space in the interior rearview mirrorassembly. While the weight of the electronic devices do notsignificantly affect the vibration characteristics of the interiorrearview mirror assembly, the increasing number of electronic devicesrequire more and more space. When coupled with the concern for thevibration performance of the interior rearview mirror assemblies ofvehicle memory mirror systems, perhaps the disadvantages associated withthe weight of the driving mechanism and, furthermore, the crowding outof the space within the casing has discouraged such use of designs.

[0007] Consequently, there is a need for an interior rearview mirrorassembly that is suitable for a vehicle memory mirror system and yetprovides ample space for a multitude of electronic devices oraccessories within the casing of the interior rearview mirror assemblywhile exhibiting reduced vibration as compared to interior rearviewmirror assemblies of conventional memory mirror systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] According to the present invention, a vehicle memory mirrorsystem includes a housing and an actuator. The housing includes a mirrorcasing and a support, which mounts the mirror casing to the vehicle. Theweight of the actuator is directly distributed to the vehicle via thesupport so that the interior rearview mirror assembly of the memorymirror system exhibits improved vibration characteristics and, further,is positioned such that the mirror assembly has increased capacity forhousing a variety of accessories and/or devices.

[0009] In one form of the invention, a vehicular interior rearviewmirror assembly for a vehicle memory mirror system includes a housing.The housing includes a mirror casing and a support for mounting themirror casing to a vehicle. A reflective element is provided in thecasing for rearward viewing when the mirror assembly is mounted to thevehicle. An electrical actuator is mounted to the support whereby theweight of the electrical actuator is borne by the support, with theactuator providing adjustment for the position of at least thereflective element about one or more axes.

[0010] In one aspect, the actuator is substantially positionedexteriorly of the mirror casing and engages a portion of the casing toadjust the position of the casing and the reflective element about theone or more axes. In further aspects, at least a portion of the actuatoris positioned in an interior portion of the support.

[0011] In other aspects, the actuator supports the reflective element inthe housing. For example, the housing may include a first portion whichdefines a mirror casing for the reflective element and the actuator anda second portion which forms the support for mounting the assembly to avehicle whereby the housing comprises a fixed mount mirror housing. Infurther aspects, the second portion includes a storage space for storingat least one electrical device therein. In preferred form, the secondportion comprises a tubular member having a transverse passage definingthe storage space for supporting the electrical device.

[0012] In other aspects, the mirror casing includes a first compartmentfor supporting the reflective element therein and a second compartmentfor housing the actuator. In further aspects, the support extends intothe second compartment and includes a mounting surface for mounting theactuator to the support. The actuator engages the casing to pivot thecasing and the reflective element about the support.

[0013] In other aspects, the actuator is mounted to the casing in thesecond compartment and engages the support whereby the actuator pivotsthe casing and the reflective element about the support. In furtheraspects, the support includes a dual ball mount support arm, with thedual ball mount support arm permitting manual adjustment of the mirrorcasing about one or more axes.

[0014] According to another form of the invention, a vehicular interiorrearview mirror assembly for a vehicle memory mirror system includes amirror casing having a reflective element, a support, which is adaptedto mount the casing to a vehicle, and an electrical actuator. Theactuator is at least partially housed or positioned in the support andengages the casing to provide adjustment of the mirror casing and thereflective element about one or more axes.

[0015] In other aspects, the mirror casing includes a back wall, whichis engaged by the actuator to reposition the mirror casing about the oneor more axes. The back wall and the reflective element assembly define acompartment therebetween for positioning one or more electrical devices.In further aspects, the actuator includes an actuator housing with atleast a portion of the actuator housing positioned in the interiorportion of the support.

[0016] In further aspects, the actuator is coupled to at least onecontrol module of the memory mirror system. Preferably, the controlmodule comprises a mirror-based control module, which is positioned inthe interior of the support for coupling to a vehicle-based controlmodule of the memory mirror system.

[0017] According to yet another form of the invention, a vehicularinterior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle memory mirror systemincludes a housing, a reflective element, and an electrical actuator.The housing includes a mirror casing and a support. The actuatorsupports the reflective element in the mirror casing. The actuatorprovides adjustment of the reflective element in the casing and furtheris mounted to the casing whereby the weight of the actuator is directlydistributed by the support to the vehicle to improve the vibrationperformance of the reflective element.

[0018] In one aspect, the housing includes a first portion defining themirror casing and a second portion forming the support for fixedlymounting the mirror assembly to a vehicle windshield. For example, thesupport preferably comprises a tubular member having an interior spacefor housing one or more electrical devices.

[0019] In another form of the invention, a vehicular interior rearviewmirror assembly for a vehicle memory mirror system includes a mirrorcasing, a reflective element supported in a first cavity of the mirrorcasing, a mounting member which is adapted to mount the assembly to avehicle, and an electrical actuator. The electrical actuator is housedin a second cavity of the mirror casing and mounts the mirror casing tothe mounting member. The electrical actuator provides adjustment of anorientation of the mirror casing and the reflective element about atleast one axis.

[0020] In one aspect, the electrical actuator is mounted to the mirrorcasing with the electrical actuator engaging the mounting member casingto adjust the orientation of the mirror casing and the reflectiveelement about the at least one axis. In another aspect, the electricalactuator is mounted to the mounting member, with the electrical actuatorengaging the mirror casing to adjust the orientation of the mirrorcasing and the reflective element bout the at least one axis.

[0021] In further aspects, the mounting member preferably includes atleast one ball mount to permit manual adjustment of the mirror casingabout one or more axes.

[0022] It can be appreciated from the foregoing that an interiorrearview mirror assembly is provided that distributes the weight of theactuator to the fixed portion of the mirror assembly, which in turndistributes the weight to the vehicle so that the mirror assemblyexhibits enhanced vibration characteristics and, further, locates theactuator in a manner to increase the available space in at least themirror casing.

[0023] These and other objects, advantages, purposes and features of theinvention will become more apparent from a study of the drawing taken inconjunction with the review of the description that follows.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024]FIG. 1 is a plan view of a vehicle incorporating a memory mirrorsystem according to the present invention;

[0025]FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of an interior rearview mirrorassembly of the memory mirror system of FIG. 1;

[0026]FIG. 3 is a cross-section taken along line III-III of FIG. 2;

[0027]FIG. 3A is a schematic representation of the control system of thememory mirror system of the present invention;

[0028]FIG. 4 is a similar cross-section view to FIG. 3 illustrating asecond embodiment of the interior rearview mirror assembly of thepresent invention;

[0029]FIG. 5 is a cross-section similar to FIG. 3 illustrating a thirdembodiment of the interior rearview mirror assembly of the presentinvention; and

[0030]FIG. 6 is a cross-section view similar to FIGS. 3-5 of a prior artinterior rearview mirror assembly of a prior art memory mirror system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0031] Referring to FIG. 1, the numeral 10 generally designates a memorymirror System of the present invention for a vehicle V. Memory mirrorsystem 10 includes passenger-side and driver-side exterior sideviewmirror assemblies 14 and an interior rearview mirror assembly 16, whichis mounted to a windshield 12 of vehicle V. In the present invention,interior rearview mirror assembly 16 is adapted to provide an interiorrearview mirror assembly for memory mirror system 10, as noted above,which exhibits enhanced vibration characteristics and, further, providesincreased storage capacity for various devices or accessories which maybe incorporated into assembly 16, as will be more fully described below.

[0032] While reference is made to exterior rearview mirror assemblies14, the focus of this present application is on interior rearview mirrorassembly 16; therefore, further details of the exterior rearview mirrorassemblies 14 are not provided herein. Examples of suitable exteriorrearview mirrors, however, can be found in copending U.S. Pat.application entitled MEMORY MIRROR SYSTEM FOR VEHICLES, Ser. No.09/448,690, filed Nov. 24, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,163,083 and U.S.Pat. No. 5,798,575, commonly assigned to Donnelly Corporation ofHolland, Mich. the disclosures of which are herein incorporated byreference in their entireties. Reference is also made to U.S. Pat. Nos.5,949,591; 5,879,074; 5,863,116; 5,871,275; 5,823,654; 5,669,699;5,669,704; 5,624,176; 5,497,305; 5,786,772; 5,929,786; and 5,971,552 forother features that may be incorporated into exterior rearviewassemblies 14, the disclosures of which are herein incorporated byreference in their entireties.

[0033] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, interior rearview mirror assembly 16includes housing 17 and a reflective element assembly 20. Housing 17includes a mirror casing 18 and a support or mounting member 22. Casing18 is a generally elongate cup-shaped casing as shown in FIG. 2 with arearward opening 40 in which reflective element assembly 20 issupported. In the illustrated embodiment, reflective element assembly 20and casing 18 are adjustable about one or more axes, for example axesX-X and Y-Y (FIG. 2), to provide adjustment of the rearward field ofview provided by reflective element assembly 20. As used herein, theterms “rearward facing” and “forward facing” are used to definedirections relative to a vehicle when the mirror assembly is mounted tothe vehicle. “Rearward facing” means the object is facing the rear ofthe vehicle. “Forward facing” means that the object is facing toward thefront end of the vehicle.

[0034] As best seen in FIG. 3, mounting member 22 mounts casing 18 towindshield 12 on a conventional mounting button (not shown), such asdescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,487,522; 5,671,996; 5,820,097; 5,615,857;5,330,149; 5,100,095; 4,930,742; or 4,936,533 or copending U.S. pat.application Ser. No. 08/781,408, filed Jan. 10, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No.5,820,097, all commonly assigned to Donnelly Corporation, thedisclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference in theirentireties, which provides a break-away mounting or release mechanism asis known in the art. It should be understood that mounting member 22 maymount casing 18 to a header portion of the vehicle such as described,for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,487,522; 5,615,857; or 5,671,996, thedisclosures of which are incorporated by reference in their entiretiesherein. In preferred form, mounting member 22 comprises an enlargedtubular member having a cavity 24 formed therein for housing andsupporting an actuator 26 which provides adjustment to casing 18 andreflective element assembly 20 about one or more axes to adjust therearward field of view, as will be more described below.

[0035] Actuator 26 preferably comprises an electrical actuator andincludes an actuator housing 28, a pivot or ball member 30 which extendsrearwardly from housing 28, and at least one telescoping positioningmember 32 which extends into and out of housing 28 to adjust theposition of mirror casing 18. Housing 28 may include one or more motorsand associated gearing for driving positioning member 32 in and out ofhousing 28, as is known in the art. Preferably, at least a portion ofactuator 26, for example housing 28, is enclosed or housed in mountingmember 22, with ball mount 30 and positioning member 32 extendingoutwardly from end 22 a of mounting member 22 for engaging casing 18.Reference is made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,986,364 and 5,900,999 for examplesof suitable actuator designs, the disclosures of which are hereinincorporated by reference herein in their entireties. It should beunderstood that the electrical actuator may incorporate one or moremuscle wires which are operable to pull or push in response to anelectrical signal. Muscle wires, which are also known as shape memoryalloy, can assume radically different forms or “phases” at distincttemperatures. When conducting an electric current, the muscle wire heatsand shortens in length, generating a useable amount of force. Suchmuscle wires are typically bi-metals such as of a nickel-titanium alloy(such as Nitinol) and are attached such that the wires contract whenelectricity is applied.

[0036] Referring again to FIG. 3, casing 18 includes a first socketmember 34 which projects rearwardly from a back wall 36 of casing 18 anda second socket member 38 which similarly extends rearwardly of backwall 36 of casing 18. Socket 34 receives ball member 30 and pivotallymounts casing 18 onto actuator 26, while socket 38 provides a pinconnection between positioning member 32 and casing 18. Positioningmember 32 includes a ball member 32 a which is engaged by socket member38 and, further, includes a transverse pin which rests in acorresponding groove or seat provided in socket member 38 to restrictrotational movement of positioning member 32 such that when the gearinginside housing 26 is driven by the motor, positioning member 32 willextend in and out of housing 28, as is also well known in the art.Though a single positioning member 32 is illustrated, it can beappreciated that actuator 26 may include two or more positioning membersto provide multi-axis positioning of casing 18 about axis X-X and axisY-Y.

[0037] As best understood from FIG. 3, reflective element assembly 20 issupported and retained in rearward facing opening 40 of mirror casing 18by a bezel or bezel portion 42. Bezel 42 and mirror casing 18 are bothpreferably formed from a resinous polymeric material or plastic and,more preferably, from a melt processible plastic and, most preferably,from an engineered polymer, for example an ABS plastic. Bezel 42 extendsaround and over the perimeter of reflective element assembly 20 and issecured to casing 18 to thereby retain reflective element assembly 20 incasing 18. In this manner, reflective element assembly 20 is supportedby mirror casing 18. In addition, by locating actuator 26 exteriorly ofcasing 18, the space between reflector assembly 20 and back wall 36 ofcasing 18 provides a storage space 46 for housing one or moreaccessories or devices (such as 11 a, 11 b, in FIG. 3), as describedbelow.

[0038] Reflective element assembly 20 includes a mirror reflector 44,which may comprise a prismatic mirror reflector or an electricallyvariable reflectance mirror reflector, such as electrochromic mirrorreflectors, as are both known in the mirror art. In addition, reflectiveelement assembly 20 may comprise a bent, wide-angle mirror reflectorrather than a flat mirror reflector. If a bent, wide-angle mirrorreflector is used, it is preferable that the mirror reflector (44)comprise a glass substrate coated with a bendable reflector coating(such as of silicon as described in copending U.S. Pat. applicationsentitled ELEMENTAL SEMICONDUCTOR MIRROR, filed May 17, 1999, Ser. No.09/313,152, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,840; and ELEMENTAL SEMICONDUCTORMIRROR FOR VEHICLES AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME, filed May 8, 1998, Ser.No. 09/174,810; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,535,056 and 5,751,489, all commonlyassigned to Donnelly Corporation of Holland, Mich., the disclosures ofwhich are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties). Wherean electrochromic mirror reflector is preferred, suitable electrochromicmirror reflectors include electrochromic mediums described in commonlyassigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,140,455 and 5,151,816 or a solid stateelectrochromic medium described in the following publications: N. R.Lynam, “Electrochromic Automotive Day/Night Mirrors”, SAE TechnicalPaper Series870636 (1987); N. R. Lynam, “Smart Windows for Automobiles”,SAE Technical Paper Series 900419 (1990); N. R. Lynam and A. Agrawal,“Automotive Applications of Chromogenic Materials”, Large AreaChromogenics: Materials and Devices for Transmittance Control, C. M.Lampert and C. G. Grandquist, EDS., Optical Engineering Press, Wash.(1990), the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by referenceherein in their entireties. Other suitable electrochromic reflectors aredescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,567,360; 5,525,264; 5,610,756; 5,406,414;5,253,109; 5,076,673; 5,073,012 or 5,117,346, which are all commonlyassigned to Donnelly Corporation, the disclosures of which are hereinincorporated by reference in their entireties.

[0039] Typically, in an electrochromic mirror reflector, two glassplates sandwich the electrochromic medium. The reflective coating may bedeposited either on the rear most surface away from the viewer (tocreate a fourth surface reflector as is known in the art) or disposed onthe front surface of the rear most substrate (to create a third surfacereflector as is known in the art). The substrates can be of equal ordifferent glass thicknesses. The electrochromic medium can be a liquidmedium or a solid medium, such as a solid polymer matrix electrochromicmedium such as is disclosed in U.S. pat. application Ser. No.09/350,930, filed Jul. 12, 1999, entitled ELECTROCHROMIC POLYMERIC SOLIDFILMS, MANUFACTURING ELECTROCHROMIC DEVICES USING SUCH FILMS, ANDPROCESSES FOR MAKING SUCH SOLID FILMS AND DEVICES, to Desaraju V.Varaprasad et al., the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporatedby reference herein. For example, an interior rearview mirror reflectorcan comprise a 1.1 mm thick front substrate, a 2.0 mm thick rearsubstrate, and an aluminum, silver, silver alloy, aluminum alloy or thelike highly reflective metal film on the front surface of the rearsubstrate (i.e. third surface reflector) and the electrochromic mediummay be solid such as electrochromic Solid Polymer Matrix (SPM)™comprising a color changing cross-linked polymer solid film. Mostpreferably, the front substrate comprises a glass plate of thicknessless than about 1.6 mm, most preferably about 1.1 mm thickness or lower,and the rear substrate comprises a glass plate of thickness equal to orgreater than about 1.6 mm, more preferably greater than about 1.8 mmthickness, most preferably equal to or greater than about 2.0 mmthickness. The rearmost surface of the rear substrate (the fourthsurface as known in the mirror art) is reflector coated with a highreflecting metal film such as of aluminum or silver, or an alloy ofaluminum or of silver. Most preferably, the front-most surface of therear substrate (the third surface as known in the mirror art) isreflector coated with a high reflecting metal film such as of aluminumor silver, or an alloy of aluminum or of silver.

[0040] Interior rearview mirror assembly 16 may incorporate a widevariety of different accessories and devices. For example, assembly 16may incorporate video screens, such as described in U.S. Pat.application entitled INTERIOR REARVIEW MIRROR ASSEMBLY INCORPORATING AVIDEO SCREEN, filed Mar. 2, 2000, Ser. No. 60/186,520, Attorney DocketNo. DON01 P-802, or pending U.S. Pat. application entitled INTERACTIVEAUTOMOTIVE REAR VISION SYSTEM, Ser. No. 60/192,721, filed on Mar. 27,2000, Attorney Docket No. DON01 P-815, by Niall R. Lynam and FrancisO'Brien, both commonly assigned to Donnelly Corporation, the entiredisclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference.

[0041] Other components that may be housed in assembly 16 include, forexample, video cameras, for example which may be used to detect thepresence of moisture on a windshield and to actuate windshield wipersaccordingly, such as described in copending U.S. pat. application Ser.No. 08/621,863, filed Mar. 25, 1996, entitled VEHICLE HEADLIGHT CONTROLUSING IMAGING SENSOR, by Schofield et al., now U.S. Pat. No. 5,796,094,or mirror mounted cameras for vehicle internal cabin monitoringdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,877,897 and 5,760,962, or mirror mountedcameras for rear vision systems as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,959,367; 5,929,786; 5,949,331; 5,914,815; 5,786,772; 5,798,575;5,670,935; and pending U.S. Pat. applications entitled VEHICLE REARVIEWMIRROR DISPLAY SYSTEM, Ser. No. 09/304,201, filed May 3, 1999, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,198,409; VEHICLE MIRROR DIGITAL NETWORK AND DYNAMICALLYINTERACTIVE MIRROR SYSTEM, Ser. No. 09/375,315, filed Aug. 16, 1999, nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,175,164; WIDE ANGLE IMAGE CAPTURE SYSTEM FOR VEHICLES,Ser. No. 09/199,907 filed Nov. 25, 1998; WIDE ANGLE IMAGING SYSTEM, Ser.No. 09/361,814, filed Jul. 27, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,201,642;VEHICLE IMAGING SYSTEM WITH STEREO IMAGING, Ser. No. 09/372,915, filedAug. 12, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,396,397; VEHICLE REARVIEW MIRRORDISPLAY SYSTEM, Ser. No. 09/300,201, filed May 3, 1999; and REARVIEWVISION SYSTEM WITH INDICIA OF BACKUP TRAVEL, Ser. No. 09/313,139, filedMay 17, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,222,447, which are all commonlyassigned to Donnelly Corporation of Holland, Mich., the disclosures ofwhich are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.

[0042] For example, such mirror mounted cameras may be used for a babyminder system such as the vehicle interior monitoring system describedin U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,877,897 and 5,760,962 or the rear vision systemdescribed in pending U.S. pat. applications Ser. No. 09/361,814, filedJul. 27, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,201,642, and Ser. No. 09/199,907filed Nov. 25, 1998, and U.S. pat. application Ser. No. 09/433,467,filed Nov. 4, 1999, entitled VEHICLE INTERIOR MIRROR ASSEMBLY, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,326,613, to Patrick Heslin and Niall R. Lynam, all of whichare incorporated by reference in their entireties herein. An interiorsurveillance system permits the driver of the vehicle to observebehavior or the activities of babies or children or other passengersseated in the rear seat. This is especially advantageous when the childor baby is in a rearward facing car seat, where the child or baby wouldordinarily not be visible to the driver while driving. For example, acamera, such as a CMOS or CCD camera, can be mounted to view the rearseat area of the vehicle so that the driver can view what is occurring,such as in a rear seat mounted baby seat or with a rear seat passengersuch as children. Preferably, to enable viewing of the rear seatoccupant or occupants even by night, the target field of view of thecamera may be illuminated in a manner that provides adequate visibilityfor the camera to discern what is occurring in the rear seat in adarkened vehicle cabin but not illuminating in a manner that causesglare, distraction, and/or discomfort to any vehicle occupants,including the driver and/or rear seat passengers. For example, such arear seat monitoring camera illumination is preferably achieved usingdirected low level non-incandescent light sources, such as lightemitting diodes (LEDs), organic light emitting material,electroluminescent sources (both organic and inorganic), and the like,and most preferably such non-incandescent sources are low power and aredirected low intensity sources, such as described in U.S. Pat. No.5,938,321 and co-pending application entitled INTERIOR MIRROR ASSEMBLYFOR A VEHICLE INCORPORATING A SOLID-STATE LIGHT SOURCE, Ser. No.09/287,926, filed Apr. 7, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,172, which areincorporated herein by reference in their entireties. The baby-mindercamera may be mounted as a part of the rearview mirror assembly and,most preferably, may be mounted as a part of a roof area of the interiorvehicle cabin such as a header, including a front header of a roof or arear header or a header console of a roof. It may be desirable to mounta baby-minder camera to the rear header of a roof when it is desirableto view rear facing child support seats. Most preferably, a plurality ofat least two, more preferably at least four, and most preferably atleast six LEDs (or similar low level, directed, low-current lightsources such as electroluminescent sources and organic light emittingsources) are mounted with a camera (preferably, such as to form a ringaround the camera) with the light projected from the individual LEDsdirected to be coincident with the camera field of view and toilluminate the target area desired to be viewed. The LEDs being directedlow level sources will not glare or cause discomfort to occupants whenilluminated. Further, camera illumination sources can be illuminatedwhenever the ignition switch is on to operate the vehicle or at leastwhen the ignition switch is placed in an “accessory on” position so thatboth the camera and illumination lights are operating on vehicle batterypower even when parked. Alternately, the illumination lights can beoperational only when the baby-minder camera is selected to beoperational. While it is preferred to use non-incandescent lights,incandescent light sources can be used, most preferably high intensity,low current incandescent light sources. For example, when the camera isactivated to view the rear seat or to view a baby seat or the like, thedome light in the vehicle, which typically comprises an incandescentlight source, can illuminate so that the rear seat area is illuminatedto assist visibility for the camera. A circuit or other device can beprovided that illuminates the dome light (or a similar rearseat-illuminating interior light source such as a rail lamp or the like)whenever the camera is selected to view the rear seat. Optionally, thedome light or similar interior light within the interior cabin, oncecaused to illuminate when the camera is activated, can cease toilluminate after a determined time interval (such as 5 seconds or tenseconds or longer) under the control of a timeout circuit or device. Byproviding a timeout, the driver can selectively view the status ofpassengers in the rear seat of the vehicle by selecting a baby-mindercamera or similar rear seat viewing function (such as by voice command,user-operated switch or the like). Upon selection of the camerafunction, whatever is being viewed on the video screen in the vehiclemay be interrupted (or superimposed over or the like), the interiorlight in the cabin (such as the dome light) will illuminate, a timeoutwill initiate, and the driver (or other front-seat occupant) can viewthe rear seat status for the duration of the timeout. Once the timeoutelapses, the interior light ceases to illuminate, and preferably, thecamera ceases to be activated and the video screen reverts to itspre-event status. Optionally, a reverse-aid rearward viewing camera canbe mounted to the rear of the vehicle in order to display to the driver,upon selecting a reverse gear, a field of view immediately rearward ofthe vehicle so as to assist the driver in reversing the vehicle. Suchvehicle reverse-aid camera systems are disclosed in U.S. pat.application Ser. No. 09/361,814 entitled WIDE ANGLE IMAGING SYSTEM, toBos of Donnelly Corporation, filed Jul. 27, 1999; U.S. pat. applicationSer. No. 09/199,907, entitled WIDE ANGLE IMAGE CAPTURE SYSTEM FORVEHICLE, to Bos et al of Donnelly Corporation, filed Nov. 25, 1998; U.S.Pat. Application entitled REARVISION SYSTEM FOR VEHICLE INCLUDINGPANORAMIC VIEW, filed Nov. 19, 1997, Ser. No. 08/952,026, now U.S. Pat.No. 6,498,620; and in U.S. pat. application Ser. No. 09/313,139,entitled REARVIEW VISION SYSTEM WITH INDICIA OF BACKUP TRAVEL toSchofield et al. of Donnelly Corporation, filed May 17, 1999, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,222,447, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated byreference herein. For example, when the driver selects a reverse gear, aview of the back-seat of the vehicle is automatically replaced with aview rearward of the vehicle provided by the rearward-facing reverse-aidcamera (typically mounted at the vehicle rear license plate area or thelike) and when reverse gear is disengaged, the view of the back-seat isonce again displayed at the display screen visible to the driver in theinterior cabin of the vehicle (such as at, on or in the interiorrearview mirror assembly). Also, when a baby is small, a rear-facingchild seat is preferred (i.e. the child faces the rear of the vehiclecabin) whereas as the child grows, a forward-facing child seat ispreferred. In order to cater for forward-facing child seats versusrearward-facing child seats, two cameras can be mounted such as in theroof area of the vehicle. One forward viewing camera (i.e. viewingforward of the vehicle relative to the direction of forward motion ofthe vehicle) can be mounted at a roof location (such as above thevehicle rear window) to view a baby seated in a rear-facing baby seatand a second rearward viewing camera (i.e. viewing rearward of thevehicle relative to the direction of forward motion of the vehicle) canbe mounted at a roof location (such as above the vehicle frontwindshield or as part of the interior mirror assembly) to view a childseated in a forward-facing baby seat. A switch can be provided to allowthe driver to choose to use any one of the forward viewing camera andthe rearward viewing camera. Optionally and preferably from a costviewpoint, a single camera module can be provided that can connect toand/or dock into two or more spaced and separate camera module receivingstations. One (i.e. a first) camera module receiving station can behigh-mounted at a forward location in the vehicle cabin (such as in aheader console above and adjacent the front windshield or in theheadliner above and adjacent the front windshield or as part of theinterior rearview mirror assembly) and a second camera module receivingstation can be located at a rearward location in the vehicle cabin (suchas above and adjacent to the rear window, or at a position in theheadliner of the vehicle that is located above and rearward of the rearseat, or as part of a dome lamp or other interior lighting assembly,preferably a lighting assembly comprising a plurality of light emittingdiodes and, most preferably, a lighting assembly comprising a pluralityof light emitting diodes comprising at least one white light emittingdiode) that is spaced and separate from the location of the first camerareceiving station. A single camera module can be provided that plugsinto, and electrically/electronically connects to, any one of the twocamera receiving stations provided. When the camera module is pluggedinto the first camera receiving station, the camera field of view isdirected rearwardly in the vehicle cabin to monitor a back seat area andthus monitor a child strapped in a forwardly-facing child seat and thelike. The camera receiving station provides power to the camera andreceives video signals generated by the camera. If, however, arearward-facing baby seat was mounted on the rear seat, the driver canunplug the camera module from the first camera receiving station andplug it into the second camera receiving station. When plugged into thesecond camera receiving station, the camera lens faces forwardly in thecabin and its field of view is directed to capture and hence display therearward-facing baby strapped in the rearwardly-facing baby (or child)seat. Optionally, a plurality of camera receiving stations (such asthree or four or more) can be provided to allow a single camera bemounted at a plurality of locations in a vehicle cabin with its field ofview selected to be directed to a specific portion of the vehicle cabinby plugging the camera module into a specific one of the availableplurality of camera receiving stations. This allows a “plug and view”capability for the vehicle user. As an alternate, or as a supplement, toa plurality of camera receiving stations, a camera can be movablymounted on a rail that also functions as a power strip that is affixedto an interior vehicular cabin structure such as a headliner of thevehicle or to a window of a vehicle (such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat.Application Ser. No: 08/895,729, entitled VEHICLE WINDOW ASSEMBLY FORMOUNTING INTERIOR VEHICLE ACCESSORIES to John W. Carter et al. ofDonnelly Corporation, filed Jul. 17, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,019,411,the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by referenceherein). Thus, for example, a camera can move along a channel in a railattached to a vehicle cabin roof headliner. When stopped at a particularposition along the rail, the camera module can receive power input fromand deliver signal output to the rail such as via conductive brushconnectors such as carbon brushes. Alternately, the camera module cantransmit video image data wirelessly within the cabin, such as byinfrared or by radio-frequency transmission (such as part of a shortrange, local RF broadcast network operating under a BLUETOOTH protocolavailable from Motorola of Schaumberg Ill.), to a cabin-mounted receiver(or externally of the vehicle to a remote receiver such as might be usedin a cabin security monitoring camera-based system that, for example,monitors the interior vehicle cabin while the vehicle is parked in orderto detect intrusion by an unauthorized party). Optionally, the cameramodule mounted in the vehicle cabin is detachably mounted so that it canbe removed from the vehicle both as an anti-theft device and in order toallow the camera to be used outside the vehicle such as in a child'scrib in a home. In this regard, a video camera (such as the detachablevehicle camera module) can be mounted at a distance from the vehiclesuch as in the like of a child's bedroom in a house to monitor, forexample, a child sleeping in a crib, and its video image can bewirelessly transmitted (such as by radio-frequency transmission) ortransmitted via a wireless INTERNET linkage to the vehicle so the driverand/or other occupants of the vehicle can view the video image of thechild in the crib at home on a vehicular video screen, preferably on ascreen mounted at, on or in the interior mirror assembly, while thevehicle is located and operating at a distance from the location of thehome where the camera generating the video image is located. Also, thecamera used in the applications described above can be an autofocusingand/or autoexposure camera using an autofocusing lens system and/or anautoexposure system (such as via an automatically adjustable irissystem). Also, optionally, the field of view of the lens of the cameracan be adjusted to view a multitude of locations in the vehicle cabinsuch as by a joystick-control or the like.

[0043] Other devices which may be incorporated into interior rearviewmirror assembly 16 include light emitting sources. Such as lightemitting sources, for example such as light emitting diodes, can be usedto provide lighting for any camera that feeds an image to themirror-mounted video screen. Light emitting diodes can be used toprovide illumination in various colors such as white, amber, yellow,green, orange red, blue, or their combination, or the like may be used.Alternately, other light emitting elements can be used to provideillumination for any camera that feeds an image to the mirror-mountedvideo screen, such as incandescent sources, fluorescent sourcesincluding cold-cathode fluorescent sources, electroluminescent sources(both organic and inorganic).

[0044] The concepts of this present invention can be used with interiorrearview mirror assemblies which are equipped with a variety of featuresand accessories, such as a home access transmitter, garage door openertransmitters, a high/low (or daylight running beam/low) headlampcontroller, a hands free phone attachment, a video telephone function, aremote keyless entry receiver, a compass, a seat occupancy detection,map lights or multiple reading lights such as described in commonlyassigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,669,698; 5,820,245; 5,671,996; 5,813,745;5,178,448; 4,733,336; and 4,646,210; the disclosures of all of which areherein incorporated in their entireties. Additional features andaccessories that may be incorporated into the rearview mirror assemblyinclude: A trip computer, an intrusion detector, displays indicating,for example passenger air bag status, including information displayssuch as a PSIR (Passenger Side Inflatable Restraint) display, an SIR(Side-Airbag Inflatable Restraint) display, compass/temperature display,a tire pressure status display or other desirable displays and the like,such as those described in U.S. pat. application Ser. No. 09/244,726,filed Feb. 5, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,613, the disclosure of whichis hereby incorporated by reference herein. For example, the rearviewmirror assemblies of the present invention may include: Antennas,including GPS or cellular phone antennas, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 5,971,552; a communication module, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 5,798,688; displays such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,240 or inU.S. pending application Ser. No. 09/244,726, filed Feb. 5, 1999, nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,172,613; blind spot detection systems, such as disclosedin U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,929,786 or 5,786,772; transmitters and/or receivers,such as garage door openers, a digital network, such as described inU.S. Pat. No. 5,798,575; a high/low head lamp controller, such asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,093; a memory mirror system, such asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,796,176; a hands-free phone attachment, avideo device for internal cabin surveillance and/or video telephonefunction, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,760,962 and 5,877,897and co-pending application Ser. No. 09/433,467, now U.S. Pat. No.6,326,613; a remote keyless entry receiver; map lights, such asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,938,321; 5,813,745; 5,820,245; 5,673,994;5,649,756; or 5,178,448; microphones and/or speakers, such as disclosedin U.S. pat. applications Ser. No. 09/361,814, filed Jul. 27, 1999, nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,201,642, and 09/199,907, filed Nov. 25, 1998; a compass,such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,212; seat occupancy detector; atrip computer; an ONSTAR System or the like, with all of the referencedpatents and applications being commonly assigned to DonnellyCorporation, the disclosures of which are herein incorporated byreference in their entireties.

[0045] The interior rearview mirror assembly may also include acompass/temperature and a clock display, fuel level display, and othervehicle status and other information displays. Furthermore, informationdisplays may be incorporated which provide information to the driver oroccupants of the vehicle such as warnings relating to the status of thepassenger airbag. In commonly assigned co-pending application Ser. No.09/244,726, filed by Jonathan E. DeLine and Niall R. Lynam, on Feb. 5,1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,613, information displays are providedwhich include information relating to vehicle or engine status, warninginformation, and the like such as information relating to oil pressure,fuel remaining, time, temperature, compass headings for vehicledirection, and the like, the disclosure of which is incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety. The passenger side air bag on/off signalmay be derived from various types of seat occupancy detectors such as byvideo surveillance of the passenger seat as disclosed in co-pending,commonly assigned U.S. pat. application Ser. No. PCT/US94/01954, filedFeb. 25, 1994, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference, or by ultrasonic or sonar detection, infrared sensing,pyrodetection, weight detection, or the like. Alternately,enablement/displayment of the passenger side air bag operation can becontrolled manually such as through a user operated switch operated withthe ignition key of the vehicle in which assembly 10 is mounted asdescribed in co-pending, commonly assigned U.S. pat. application Ser.No. 08/799,734, filed Feb. 12, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,786,772, thedisclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.In addition, interior rearview mirror assembly 16 may include electronicand electric devices, including a blind spot detection system, such asthe type disclosed in U.S. pat. application Ser. No. 08/799,734 entitledVEHICLE BLIND SPOT DETECTION AND DISPLAY SYSTEM, invented by Schofieldet al. and filed Feb. 12, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,786,772, or rainsensor systems, for example rain sensor systems which include windshieldcontacting rain sensors such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,973,844entitled VEHICULAR MOISTURE SENSOR AND MOUNTING APPARATUS THEREFORE, ornon-windshield contacting rain sensors, such as described in PCTInternational Application PCT/US94/05093 entitled MULTI-FUNCTION LIGHTSENSOR FOR VEHICLE, published as WO 94/27262 on Nov. 24, 1994, thedisclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein intheir entireties. Where windshield contacting rain sensors are included,the rain sensors can be mounted in passage 24 of mounting member 22.

[0046] The mirror-mounted video screen can display the output from arear vision back-up camera, such as disclosed in co-pending ApplicationsSer. No. 09/199,907, filed Nov. 25, 1998, and 09/361,814, filed Jul. 27,1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,201,642, commonly assigned to DonnellyCorporation, the disclosures of which are herein incorporated byreference in their entireties, along with vehicle instrument status,such as an vehicle information display, such as information relating tofuel gauge levels, speed, climate control setting, GPS directionalinstructions, tire pressure status, instrument and vehicle functionstatus, and the like.

[0047] As disclosed in U.S. pat. application Ser. No. 09/449,121, filedNov. 24, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,428,172, the entire disclosure ofwhich is herby incorporated by reference herein, interior rearviewmirror assembly 16 of the present invention may incorporated variousaccessories which can be docked onto the assembly for purposes ofstorage, battery charging, electrical powering, data input or output andsimilar functions. Such dockable features are detachable by a user ofthe vehicle from the mirror assembly and are optionally removable fromthe vehicle for use outside the vehicle. For example, a dockable featuremay comprise a light assembly, such as a flashlight assembly, or maycomprise a cellular phone, a phone module, pager, INTERNET connector, orthe like. In the case of docking a telecommunication device such as aphone or a pager, the interior mirror assembly is preferably adapted toconnect to the telecommunication device such as a phone in a manner suchthat the vehicle control system will recognize the phone and,optionally, direct incoming phone calls to speakers, which may belocated in the mirror assembly or elsewhere in the vehicle. In thismanner, the dockable phone may provide removable hands-free phonefunction. Furthermore, in one form, the phone may automatically beactivated by the occupant's voice or a switch or by the docking of thephone onto the mirror assembly. In this manner, the phone may be removedwhen the occupant exits the car for normal remote use or may be dockedfor hands-free use.

[0048] Preferably, interior rearview mirror assembly 16 includes a powersource, such as a recharger that recharges the battery or batteries inany dockable accessory, which is stored or attached thereto. Aspreviously noted, such dockable accessories can include pagers, cellularphones, flashlights or the like. In this manner, the dockable accessorycan be docked for recharging. In the case of the light assembly, thelight assembly can be docked for use as a map reading light or the like.When undocked, the light assembly (which includes internal batteries)may be used as a flashlight, as previously noted.

[0049] Alternately, the phone module of a cellular or digital phone maybe docked on interior mirror assembly 16 such that the vehicle systemcouples the phone module to the speakers and microphones to provide ahands-free phone system. In this manner, the module can be quickly andeasily docked and, further, removed for replacement into the phonehousing. Furthermore, a hands-free phone system may be coupled to one ormore of the video screens incorporated into the interior rearview mirrorassembly to form a teleconferencing system, with the video screendisplaying images of the one or more of the parties. Optionally, theinterior rearview mirror assembly may incorporate a camera so thatbi-directional teleconferencing can be achieved. Reference for suchvideo-telephone applications is made to co-pending U.S. pat. applicationSer. No. 08/918,772, entitled MODULAR REARVIEW MIRROR ASSEMBLY, filedAug. 25, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,124,88, which is commonly assigned toDonnelly Corporation of Holland, Mich., the disclosure of which isherein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0050] Referring to FIG. 3A, actuator 26 of interior rearview mirrorassembly 16 is coupled to an electronic control system 50. Electroniccontrol system 50 includes mirror-based control modules 52 positioned ineach exterior rearview mirror assembly 14 and interior rearview mirrorassembly 16 and a vehicle-based control module 54 which isinterconnected to each of the respective mirror-based control modules52. Control module 54 may be located in the vehicle, for example in avehicle door or in or behind the dashboard or the like. In addition,control module 54 may be associated with other vehicle control functionssuch as seat position control, window controls, or the like. For furtherdetails of a suitable memory mirror electronic control system, referenceis made to copending application entitled MEMORY MIRROR SYSTEM FORVEHICLES, Ser. No. 09/448,690, filed Nov. 24, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No.6,163,083 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,798,575, the disclosures of which areincorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

[0051] Referring to FIG. 4, a second embodiment 116 of the interiorrearview mirror assembly of the present invention is illustrated.Interior rearview mirror assembly 116 includes a housing 117 and areflective element assembly 120. Housing 117 includes a mirror casing118 and a support 122, which mounts casing 118 to windshield 12.Reflective element assembly 120 is supported in casing 118 by anactuator 126, preferably an electric actuator similar to actuator 26 andis coupled to a memory mirror system similar to system 10 described inthe first embodiment. Reference is also made to the first embodiment fordetails for suitable casing materials, suitable reflective elementassemblies, and optional devices or accessories that may be incorporatedinto assembly 116.

[0052] Housing 117 includes a first portion 118 a, which defines casing118, and a second portion 118 b which is integral with and extendsforwardly from first portion 118 a to form support or mounting member122 for mounting casing 118 to vehicle windshield 12. Casing 118 isgenerally cup shaped similar to casing 18 and includes a cavity and arearward facing opening 140 in which reflective element assembly 120 ispositioned by actuator 126.

[0053] In the preferred embodiment, mounting portion 122 comprises atubular member and provides a fixed mounting for casing 118 towindshield 112 on a conventional mounting button, as is known in themirror art, to provide a break-away mounting for assembly 116. Thus,interior rearview mirror assembly 116 includes a fixed mount housing butwith an adjustable reflective element within the casing 118.

[0054] Preferably, actuator 126 is mounted directly to casing wall 118 cof casing 118 and, most preferably, to a forward portion or back wall118 d of casing wall 118 c. In this manner, actuator 126 is rigidlysupported within casing 118 with the weight of actuator 126 beingdirectly transferred to windshield 12 by way of mounting member 122.Furthermore, mounting member 122 preferably comprises a hollow tubularmember having a passageway 124 which may be used to store or house avariety of electrical and electronic devices as described in referenceto the first embodiment, including, for example rain sensors aspreviously described. It can be appreciated, that mirror assembly 116,therefore, exhibits reduced vibration and, further, provides ample spacefor storing a wide variety of accessories and devices.

[0055] Referring to FIG. 5, a third embodiment 216 of the interiorrearview mirror assembly of the present invention is illustrated.Interior rearview mirror assembly 216 includes a housing 217 and areflective element assembly 220. Housing 217 includes a mirror casing218 and a support or mounting member 222. Reflective element assembly120 is supported in casing 218 by a bezel in a rearward facing opening240 similar to the first embodiment. Casing 218 includes a firstcompartment or cavity 218 a which is defined between an upper wall 218c, a lower wall 218 d and an intermediate or back wall 218 e, whichextends between upper and lower walls 218 c and 218 d to divide casing218 into the two compartments. Upper wall 218 c, lower wall 218 d andback wall 218 e together form a cup-shaped casing similar to casing 18illustrated in FIG. 2. Extending forwardly of back wall 218 e is asecond compartment or cavity 218 b which houses an electrical actuator226. Actuator 226 provides adjustment for casing 218 about axes X″ andY″. Actuator 226 is of similar construction to actuator 26 and includesan actuator housing 228 with a pivot or ball member 230 and one or morepositioning members 232 which project outwardly from housing 228 and,further, which extend and retract into housing 228 to adjust theposition of casing 218, as will be more fully described below.

[0056] Casing 218 is mounted to windshield 12 by support or mountingmember 222 which includes a conventional dual ball mount arrangement, asis known in the art. Mounting member 222 includes a first support member224 a, which includes a mount 224 b for engaging a conventional mirrormounting button, and a ball member 224 c which is engaged by a swaged,one piece tubular member 225. Mounting member 222 includes a secondsupport member 224 d which includes a second ball member 224 e,similarly engaged by one piece tubular member 225. Ball members 224 cand 224 e are urged against the interior ends of tubular member 225 by acompression spring 225 a, as is commonly known in the art. In addition,second support member 224 d includes a mounting flange 224 f whichextends into second compartment 218 b and includes a pair of sockets 234and 238 for receiving ball member 230 and position member 232, similarto the first embodiment, which mount casing 218 onto mounting member222. In this manner, casing 216 can be manually repositioned forrearward viewing of the vehicle about ball members 224 c and 224 e aswell as electrically repositioned by actuator 226 about axes X″ and Y″.

[0057] In the illustrated embodiment, actuator 226 is mounted in casing218 preferably on forward facing surface 218 f of back wall 218 e. Inthis manner, when actuator 226 is energized, actuator 226 pivots casing218 and reflective element assembly 220 about mounting member 222.Furthermore, the weight of the actuator assembly 226 is distributed tomounting member 222 via flange 224 f and, thus, enhances the vibrationcharacteristics of interior rearview mirror assembly 216. In addition,interior rearview mirror assembly 216 provides ample space incompartment 218 a to support a plurality of accessories and devices. Itshould be understood that actuator 226 may be reversed with casing 218including a corresponding set of socket structures or back wall 218 eand with actuator 226 mounted directly onto flange 224 f.

[0058] It can be appreciated from the description and drawings that animproved vehicle interior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle memorymirror system is provided that distributes the weight of the actuator tothe fixed portion of the mirror assembly instead of the pivotal ormoving portion of the mirror assembly and, therefore, exhibits improvedvibration characteristics and, further, provides ample storage space inat least the mirror casing for housing a wide variety of accessories ordevices.

[0059] While several forms of the invention have been shown anddescribed, other forms will now be apparent to those skilled in the art.Therefore, it will be understood that the embodiments shown in thedrawings and described above are merely for illustrative purposes, andare not intended to limit the scope of the invention which is defined bythe claims which follow as interpreted under the principles of patentlaw including the doctrine of equivalents.

We claim:
 1. A vehicular interior rearview memory mirror system, saidinterior rearview memory mirror system comprising: an interior rearviewmirror assembly; said interior rearview mirror assembly comprising amirror casing having a reflective element with a rearward field of view;said interior rearview mirror assembly further comprising a supportbeing adapted to mount said mirror assembly to a vehicle; and anelectrical actuator located interiorly of said mirror casing, saidelectrical actuator cooperating with said support to provide adjustmentof said mirror casing about said support when said electrical actuatoris actuated to thereby provide adjustment of said rearward field of viewof said reflective element about one or more axes when said actuator isactuated.
 2. The vehicular interior rearview memory mirror systemaccording claim 1, wherein said reflective element is supported by saidmirror casing.
 3. The vehicular interior rearview memory mirror systemaccording to claim 1, wherein said mirror casing includes a firstcompartment for said reflective element and a second compartment forhousing said actuator.
 4. The vehicular interior rearview memory mirrorsystem according to claim 3, wherein said support extends into saidsecond compartment, said actuator pivoting said casing and saidreflective element about said support when actuated.
 5. The vehicularinterior rearview memory mirror system according to claim 4, whereinsaid actuator is mounted to said casing in said second compartment andengages said support whereby said actuator pivots said casing and saidreflective element about said support.
 6. The vehicular interiorrearview memory mirror system according to claim 1, wherein said supportcomprises a dual ball mount support arm, said dual ball mount supportarm providing manual adjustment of said mirror casing about one or moreaxes.
 7. The vehicular interior rearview memory mirror system accordingto claim 1, wherein said reflective element comprises a prismaticreflective element.
 8. The vehicular interior rearview memory mirrorsystem according to claim 1, wherein said reflective element comprises avariable reflectance element.
 9. The vehicular interior rearview memorymirror system according to claim 1, wherein said mirror casing comprisesa generally cup-shaped mirror casing.
 10. The vehicular interiorrearview memory mirror system according to claim 1, wherein said supportis adapted to mount said mirror assembly to a windshield.
 11. Thevehicular interior rearview memory mirror system according to claim 1,wherein said support is adapted to mount said mirror assembly to aheader.
 12. The vehicular interior rearview memory mirror systemaccording to claim 1, wherein said mirror casing includes a wall, saidreflective element being spaced from said wall of said mirror casing tothereby define a cavity therebetween for containing one or moreelectrical components.
 13. The vehicular interior rearview memory mirrorsystem according to claim 12, wherein said actuator is supported by saidwall.
 14. A vehicular interior rearview memory mirror system comprising:an interior rearview mirror assembly; said interior rearview mirrorassembly comprising a mirror casing having a reflective element with arearward field of view; said interior rearview mirror assembly furthercomprising a support being adapted to mount said mirror assembly to avehicle, said mirror casing being fixed relative to said support; and anelectrical actuator located interiorly of said mirror assembly, saidelectrical actuator cooperating with said reflective element to provideadjustment of said reflective element when said electrical actuator isactuated to thereby provide adjustment of said rearward field of view ofsaid reflective element about one or more axes when said actuator isactuated.
 15. The vehicular interior rearview memory mirror systemaccording to claim 14, wherein said actuator supports said reflectiveelement in said casing.
 16. The vehicular interior rearview memorymirror system according to claim 14, wherein said support comprises atubular member, said tubular member being adapted to mount to a vehiclewindshield or a header.
 17. The vehicular interior rearview memorymirror system according to claim 16, wherein said tubular member definesa passageway, said memory mirror system further comprising at least oneelectrical device, and said device being housed in said passageway. 18.The vehicular interior rearview memory mirror system according to claim14, further comprising a housing, said housing forming said mirrorcasing and said support.
 19. The vehicular interior rearview memorymirror system according to claim 18, wherein said actuator includes anactuator housing, at least a portion said actuator housing beingpositioned in said mirror casing.
 20. The vehicular interior rearviewmemory mirror system according to claim 14, wherein said actuator iscoupled to at least one control module of a mirror memory system. 21.The vehicular interior rearview memory mirror system according to claim20, wherein said at least one control module comprises a mirror-basedcontrol module, said mirror-based control module positioned in saidinterior of said support, said mirror-based control module for couplingto a vehicle-based control module of said memory mirror system.
 22. Thevehicular interior rearview memory mirror system according to claim 14,wherein said reflective element comprises a prismatic reflectiveelement.
 23. The vehicular interior rearview memory mirror systemaccording to claim 14, wherein said reflective element comprises avariable reflectance element.
 24. A vehicular interior rearview mirrorassembly for a vehicle memory mirror system, said interior rearviewmirror assembly comprising: a body forming a mirror casing and a supportfor mounting said mirror assembly to a vehicle; a reflective element;and an electrical actuator supporting said reflective element in saidmirror casing, said actuator providing adjustment of said reflectiveelement in said mirror casing and, further, being mounted to said bodywhereby the weight of said actuator is directly distributed to thevehicle by said support to improve the vibration performance of saidreflective element in said interior rearview mirror assembly.
 25. Thevehicular interior rearview mirror assembly according to claim 24,wherein said body is adapted to mount to a vehicle windshield or aheader.
 26. The vehicular interior rearview mirror assembly according toclaim 24, wherein said body includes a first portion defining saidmirror casing and a second portion forming said support for mountingsaid mirror assembly to a vehicle windshield.
 27. The vehicular interiorrearview mirror assembly according to claim 26, wherein said supportcomprises a tubular member having an interior space for housing one ormore electrical devices.
 28. The vehicular interior rearview mirrorassembly according to claim 26, wherein said mirror casing includesupper and lower casing walls and a back casing wall, said actuatorsupported at said back casing wall.
 29. The vehicular interior rearviewmirror assembly according to claim 28, wherein said actuator is mountedto said back casing wall.
 30. The vehicular interior rearview mirrorassembly according to claim 26, wherein said second portion extends fromsaid first portion.
 31. The vehicular interior rearview mirror assemblyaccording to claim 24, wherein said actuator is coupled to at least onecontrol module of the memory mirror system.
 32. The vehicular interiorrearview mirror assembly according to claim 31, wherein said at leastone control module comprises a mirror-based control module, saidmirror-based control module supported by said mirror assembly.
 33. Thevehicular interior rearview mirror assembly according to claim 32,wherein said mirror-based control module is coupled to a second controlmodule, said second control module being located remotely from saidinterior rearview mirror assembly.
 34. The vehicular interior rearviewmirror assembly according to claim 24, wherein said reflective elementcomprises a prismatic reflective element.
 35. The vehicular interiorrearview mirror assembly according to claim 24, wherein said reflectiveelement comprises a variable reflectance element.
 36. A vehicularinterior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle memory mirror system,said interior rearview mirror assembly comprising: a mirror casing, saidmirror casing having a first cavity and a second cavity; a reflectiveelement supported in said first cavity; a support adapted to mount saidmirror casing to a vehicle; and an electrical actuator housed in saidsecond cavity and mounting said mirror casing to said support andproviding adjustment of an orientation of said mirror casing and saidreflective element about said support about at least one axis.
 37. Thevehicular interior rearview mirror assembly according to claim 36,wherein said electrical actuator is mounted to said mirror casing. 38.The vehicular interior rearview mirror assembly according to claim 36,wherein said support includes at least one ball mount to provide manualadjustment of said mirror casing about one or more axes.
 39. Thevehicular interior rearview mirror assembly according to claim 36,wherein said casing includes an upper wall and a lower wall, said upperwall and said lower wall interconnected by an intermediate wall, saidintermediate wall dividing said mirror casing into said first cavity andsaid second cavity.
 40. The vehicular interior rearview mirror assemblyaccording to claim 39, wherein said reflective element is supportedbetween said upper and lower walls.
 41. The vehicular interior rearviewmirror assembly according to claim 40, wherein said reflective elementis supported by said mirror casing.
 42. A vehicle memory mirror systemcomprising: at least one exterior sideview mirror assembly, saidsideview mirror assembly including a sideview mirror casing adapted tomount to a vehicle, a sideview reflective element, and a sideviewelectrical actuator for adjusting the position of said sideviewreflective element in said sideview mirror casing about one or moreaxes; an interior rearview mirror assembly including a rearview mirrorcasing, a rearview reflective element, a support for mounting saidrearview mirror casing to a vehicle, and a rearview electrical actuator,said rearview electrical actuator adjusting the position of said mirrorcasing about one or more axes about said support to thereby adjust saidrearward field of view of said reflective element; and at least onecontrol module in communication with said rearview electrical actuatorand said sideview electrical actuator, said control module actuatingsaid actuators to adjust the positions of said reflective elements inresponse to signals from at least one of (a) a mirror switch that isuser operable to selectively position said reflective elements and (b) amemory set switch that is user operable to set memory positions for saidreflective elements.
 43. The memory mirror system according to claim 42,wherein said rearview mirror casing includes a first compartment forsupporting said rearview reflective element therein and a secondcompartment for housing said rearview electrical actuator.
 44. Thememory mirror system according to claim 43, wherein said support extendsinto said second compartment.
 45. The memory mirror system according toclaim 44, wherein said rearview electrical actuator is mounted to saidrearview mirror casing in said second compartment.
 46. The memory mirrorsystem according to claim 42, wherein said rearview reflective elementcomprises a prismatic reflective element.
 47. The memory mirror systemaccording to claim 42, wherein said rearview reflective elementcomprises a variable reflectance element.